PART 4 — THE WOMAN WHO THOUGHT I WAS DEAD

For several seconds, I couldn’t speak.
Amanda must have thought the call had dropped.
“June?”
“I’m here.”
Rebecca was watching my face.
Michael had stopped writing.
I swallowed.
“Say that again.”
Amanda’s voice trembled.
“Travis told me you died six years ago.”
I closed my eyes.
Six years.
Not six months.
Not during some recent separation he could twist into an excuse.
Six years.
Three years into our marriage.
“How?”
Amanda hesitated.
“He said you died after a car accident.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“He said you were his wife?”
“Yes.”
“And dead?”
“Yes.”
Rebecca quietly slid a legal pad toward me.
I turned on speakerphone.
“Amanda, my attorney is here with me.”
Silence.
Then Amanda said, “Good.”
That answer surprised me.
“You’re okay with that?”
“I’m done protecting him.”
Rebecca leaned closer.
“Ms. Reeves, my name is Rebecca Sloan. I represent June. Before we continue, are you comfortable speaking with us?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. Start wherever you think makes sense.”
Amanda exhaled slowly.
“I met Travis seven years ago.”
My stomach twisted.
Seven years.
He had met her while we were married.
“He came into the medical clinic where I worked near Lafayette. He had injured his shoulder offshore.”
I knew about that injury.
Travis had come home wearing a brace.
I had spent two weeks helping him shower because he could barely lift his arm.
“He was funny,” Amanda continued. “Confident. He flirted with everyone.”
That sounded exactly like him.
“At first, I ignored it. Then he started bringing coffee when he had appointments.”
I stared at the wall.
“He told me he was married then?”

“Yes.”
At least that.
“But he said things were bad.”
Of course he did.
“He said you two were basically separated. That you stayed together because the property situation was complicated.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“The property.”
Amanda went quiet.
“I’m sorry.”
“Keep going.”
She did.
“He disappeared for weeks at a time because of the rig. Then he’d come back and say he had been trying to work things out with you.”
Rebecca wrote something.
“Did you have a romantic relationship while June was alive?”
Amanda’s voice lowered.
“Yes.”
I already knew.
Still, hearing the word hurt.
Not because I wanted Travis back.
But because it rewrote memories I had once trusted.
Anniversaries.
Birthdays.
Christmas mornings.
Weekends when he claimed exhaustion from work.
Amanda continued.
“I ended it after about a year.”
That surprised me.
“Why?”
“Because I found out he was lying.”
I looked at the phone.
“About me?”
“Not exactly.”
She paused.
“He told me he wanted children someday.”
My chest tightened.
Travis had always told me he didn’t.
Every time I brought up children, he said offshore work made fatherhood impossible.
Then Amanda said, “I found out I was pregnant.”
No one in Rebecca’s office moved.
I looked at the photograph still glowing on my screen.
The little boy.
“How old is he?”
“Five.”
My throat tightened.
“What’s his name?”
“Eli.”
The boy had a name.
That somehow made everything more real.
“Is Travis his father?”
“Yes.”
Amanda answered immediately.
“We had a DNA test done when Eli was born.”
I lowered my head.
Rebecca gently touched my wrist.
I didn’t cry.
Not yet.
Amanda continued.
“When I told Travis I was pregnant, he panicked.”
“He didn’t want the baby?”
“At first, no.”
I almost laughed.
That sounded more familiar.
“He told me a child would destroy everything. His job. His finances. His marriage.”
“So he admitted I was still alive then.”
“Yes.”
My head snapped up.
Rebecca caught it too.
“So when did he tell you June died?” she asked.
Amanda went silent.
“When Eli was about eight months old.”
Cold spread through my body.
“What exactly did he say?” Rebecca asked.
“He showed up at my apartment crying.”
I stared at the phone.
Travis cried?
“He said there had been an accident. He said June was driving home at night and another vehicle crossed the center line.”
My stomach turned.
“He said he had been at the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“He said you died during surgery.”
Rebecca’s expression hardened.
Amanda continued.
“He looked devastated. I believed him.”
Of course she did.
Why wouldn’t she?
Who invents their wife’s death?
“He said he had made mistakes with me,” Amanda said, “but losing you made him realize he couldn’t keep living two lives.”
The cruelty of that sentence nearly took my breath away.
Because he had used my imaginary death to make himself look honorable.
“So you took him back?” I asked.
“Not immediately.”
“But eventually.”
“Yes.”
I looked at the picture.
Travis holding Eli.
Smiling.
A family portrait.
While I sat forty miles away clipping coupons because Travis said we needed to save money.
“When did the house happen?”
Amanda was quiet.
“About eighteen months ago.”
“Why did Gulf Coast Procurement Services buy it?”
Another silence.
This one felt different.
Rebecca leaned closer to the phone.
“Amanda?”
“I don’t know everything.”
“But you know something.”
“Yes.”
Michael looked up.
Amanda continued.
“Travis told me Gulf Coast Procurement was doing him a favor.”
“What kind of favor?” Michael asked.
“He said the owner owed him money.”
“Do you know the owner?”
“Yes.”
Michael immediately picked up his pen.
“What’s the name?”
“Darren Pike.”
Michael froze.
Rebecca noticed.
“You know that name?”
Michael nodded slowly.
“I’ve seen it in the transfer records.”
Amanda continued.
“Darren worked with one of the supply contractors connected to Travis’s rig.”
That changed Michael’s expression completely.
“Supply contractor?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
“Equipment. Parts. Industrial materials. I’m not sure.”
Michael leaned forward.
“Amanda, did Travis ever explain why Darren owed him money?”
“No.”
“Did you ever hear them discuss invoices?”
There was a long pause.
Then Amanda said, “Yes.”
Michael and Rebecca exchanged another look.
“What did they say?”
“I didn’t understand most of it.”
“Tell us anyway.”
Amanda took a breath.
“They argued once in my kitchen.”
“When?”
“Maybe two years ago.”
“About what?”
“Travis was angry because Darren hadn’t sent him what he promised.”
“What did he call it?”
“I don’t remember exactly.”
“Try.”
Silence.
Then:
“Something about approved vendors.”
Michael stopped moving.
Amanda continued.
“And markup.”
Michael’s eyes sharpened.
“What kind of markup?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you hear any numbers?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Twenty percent.”
The room went completely silent.
Michael stood.
He walked to his laptop.
Started typing.
I watched him.
“What does that mean?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then he turned the screen toward Rebecca.
“This changes the financial theory.”
I stared at both of them.
“What theory?”
Michael sat back down.
“If Travis had influence over purchasing or vendor approvals offshore, and a supplier was inflating invoices, someone inside could potentially receive money in return.”
My stomach tightened.
“A kickback?”
Michael nodded cautiously.
“Potentially.”
Amanda spoke from the phone.
“Kickback?”
Michael answered carefully.
“We’re not saying that happened. We’re saying the payment pattern could be consistent with something like that.”
Amanda went quiet.
Then she whispered, “Oh my God.”
Rebecca looked at me.
“June, this is why Travis said this was bigger than the marriage.”
My mind raced.
The secret account.
The extra house.
The mysterious company.
The sudden money.
And now possible vendor payments.
Then Amanda said something that made Michael stop typing.
“There’s a safe.”
“What safe?”
“In the Lafayette house.”
Rebecca immediately leaned closer.
“Do you have access to it?”
“Yes.”
“Do not open it for us.”
Amanda sounded confused.
“Why?”
“Because we need to handle evidence correctly.”
I almost smiled.
Even now, Rebecca was careful.
“What’s inside?” Michael asked.
“I’ve seen some of it.”
“What?”
“Cash.”
My heart pounded.
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“Thousands?”
“Yes.”
“Tens of thousands?”
Amanda hesitated.
“Probably.”
Michael’s face changed.
“What else?”
“Envelopes.”
“What kind?”
“With company names written on them.”
“Any you remember?”
Amanda thought for a moment.
“Bluewater Industrial.”
Michael typed.
“Pelican Valve.”
More typing.
“And something like Red Bay Marine.”
Michael suddenly looked at Rebecca.
“What?”
Rebecca asked.
Michael turned his laptop.
“These companies appear in Travis’s transaction history.”
I stared at the screen.
Amanda continued.
“There are also notebooks.”
“What kind?”
“Black notebooks. Travis writes numbers in them.”
Michael leaned back.
That was the first moment I saw real concern on his face.
Rebecca looked at the phone.
“Amanda, I need you to listen carefully.”
“Okay.”
“Do not confront Travis.”
“I won’t.”
“Do not remove anything.”
“Okay.”
“And if you believe you or your son are in danger, leave and contact law enforcement.”
Amanda’s voice cracked.
“You think he could hurt us?”
Rebecca answered carefully.
“I don’t know. But once someone realizes financial records may expose them, people can behave unpredictably.”
I thought about Travis grabbing the door.
The anger.
The fear.
The repeated calls.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Travis.
WHERE ARE YOU?
I showed Rebecca.
Before she could respond, another appeared.
I KNOW YOU SPOKE TO AMANDA.
My blood went cold.
Amanda whispered, “He just texted me too.”
“What did he say?”
“He wants me to bring Eli to him.”
Rebecca immediately said, “Don’t.”
Amanda inhaled sharply.
“I wasn’t going to.”
Another message appeared on my phone.
JUNE, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’RE DOING.
Then:
PEOPLE CAN LOSE EVERYTHING WHEN THEY DIG INTO THINGS THAT DON’T CONCERN THEM.
Michael looked at Rebecca.
Rebecca photographed the message.
“Save everything.”
I nodded.
Then Amanda suddenly gasped.
“What?”
I asked.
“He’s here.”
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“Who?”
“Travis.”
Rebecca stood instantly.
“Amanda, lock the doors.”
“He’s pulling into the driveway.”
I heard movement through the phone.
A door closing.
A lock turning.
Then Eli’s small voice in the background.
“Mommy?”
Amanda’s breathing quickened.
“Go upstairs, baby.”
A car door slammed outside her house.
Then Travis’s voice.
Muffled.
But unmistakable.
“AMANDA!”
She whispered, “Oh God.”
Rebecca pointed at Michael.
“Call local law enforcement.”
Michael grabbed his phone.
Travis pounded on Amanda’s door.
“AMANDA, OPEN UP!”
Eli started crying upstairs.
Amanda whispered, “What do I do?”
“Stay inside,” Rebecca said. “Do not open that door.”
Another pound.
“Amanda!”
Then Travis shouted something that made every person in Rebecca’s office freeze.
“WE NEED TO MOVE THE SAFE BEFORE THEY FIND IT!”
Amanda covered her mouth.
Michael slowly lowered his phone.
Because Travis had just said the one sentence nobody needed to interpret.
There really was something in that safe.
Something he was terrified we would see.
Rebecca whispered, “Amanda, stay on the line.”
But suddenly the pounding stopped.
Silence.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Then Amanda whispered:
“He’s leaving.”
I exhaled.
But Michael didn’t.
He was staring at his laptop.
“What?”
I asked.
He looked at Rebecca.
“I just found another transfer.”
“How much?”
“Forty-eight thousand.”
“From where?”
He rotated the screen.
The sender wasn’t Gulf Coast Procurement Services.
It was a company none of us had discussed.
PARKER LAND MANAGEMENT LLC.
I stared at the name.
Parker.
My maiden name.
Rebecca slowly turned toward me.
“June, do you own a company called Parker Land Management?”
“No.”
Michael’s face went pale.
“Then we have a much bigger problem.”
“Why?”
He pointed at the registration date.
The company had been created eight years earlier.
Using the address of Daddy’s property.
My property.
And listed beneath AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE was a signature.
My signature.
Except I had never signed it.

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PART 5 — My husband secretly removed me from our accounts, then laughed